A Muslim worshipper stopped a mass shooting in a New Zealand mosque by snatching the shooter's gun then chasing him off, a survivor says

Syed Mazharuddin, who witnessed the shooting at the Linwood Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, said a man wrestled the gunman's weapon away.
New Zealand Herald

The gunman that killed multiple people in a New Zealand mosque had his gun wrestled away and was chased out of the building, according to a witness.

Syed Mazharuddin said a "hero" jumped on the gunman at Linwood Mosque and took his weapon, driving him out of the building and into a waiting car.

Seven people were killed at the Linwood Mosque and one later died at the hospital from gunshot wounds. Forty-one people were killed in another mosque nearby as part of the same terrorist attack. At least 48 people are being treated for gunshot wounds.

Another witness said a man tried to take the weapon from the gunman at the other mosque but was immediately shot.

Mazharuddin said that one of his friends was killed and that more of his friends were injured.

A survivor of a mass shooting in a New Zealand mosque said a man wrestled the shooter's gun out of his hands and then chased him out of the mosque in a bid to save more lives.

Syed Mazharuddin, a witness of the shooting in Christchurch's Linwood Mosque on Friday, told the New Zealand Herald newspaper that a "young guy who usually takes care of the mosque" tackled the gunman.

He said the man "pounced" on the gunman, "took his gun," and then chased him out of the building.

"The hero tried to chase and he couldn't find the trigger in the gun … he ran behind him but there were people waiting for him in the car and he fled," Mazharuddin said.

Seven people were killed in the Linwood Mosque and 41 people were killed in a connected attack at the Al Noor Mosque 3 1/2 miles away. One person died at Christchurch Hospital, where 48 others, including children, are being treated for gunshot wounds.

Khaled Al-Nobani, a survivor of the shooting at the Al Noor Mosque, told the Herald that a man tried to take the gun from the shooter at that mosque but that the gunman "shot him straight away."

Mazharuddin told the Herald that the shooter fired at people who were praying at the Linwood Mosque.

Ambulance staff take a man from outside a mosque in central Christchurch on Friday. AP

"Just around the entrance door there were elderly people sitting there praying, and he just started shooting at them," he said.

Mazharuddin said he has friends who were shot in the chest. He said one was shot in the head.

One of his friends was killed, he said. "I ran out and then the police came, and they didn't let me come back in again, so I couldn't save my friend," he said. "He was bleeding heavily."

Survivors shared their accounts of New Zealand's 'darkest day'

Other survivors have shared their accounts of the terrorist attacks, including seeing piles of bodies, some dead.

One witness told CNN that he lay still "praying to God, oh God please let this guy run out of bullets."